Charlie Gard Case Threatens All Parents

July 17, 2017

(USA Today) – By virtue of the deep bonds between parents and their children, Charlie’s parents are the ones most directly responsible for him, most invested in his well-being and most profoundly affected by his fate. The primary authority of parents to make decisions on their children’s behalf is widely recognized as a matter of principle and explicitly articulated in law. The United State Supreme Court has recognized the rights of parents in cases like Meyer v. Nebraska, Pierce v. Society of Sisters, and Wisconsin v. Yoder. Likewise, the European Convention of Human Rights (Article 8) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 12) recognize the right to be free from arbitrary interference in private and family life. By contrast, one of the hallmarks of totalitarian regimes is the elimination of genuine parental decision-making authority and family privacy.